Who's got tips? currently Bigby will let us look in his mouth for about a half a second before getting annoyed, but I'd like to avoid having to spend $400-$800 a year on his dental cleanings and extractions.

These tips sounds good for a start. Anyone have any success they can share?

The best tips I can share are to find toothpaste that he likes (Cammie clearly prefers Virbac CET brand toothpaste which I buy at Chewy.com over the Arm & Hammer stuff I got a PetSmart), and to make it consistent. We do dental chew treats in the morning and brushing at night.

Our vet has also recommended mouthwash (I think it's also Virbac CET brand), but we haven't used it. But it could be a good option to help keep his teeth clean while he's getting used to the toothbrush.

Oh, and we just use a child sized toothbrush and not a "dog toothbrush" since Cammie is pretty small (12 lbs) - and it looks like Bigby might be close in size.

We put mouthwash in their water but we really just started with getting a flavored toothpaste, putting it on a finger brush (rather than a tooth brush) and getting in a quick wipe. Winston's teeth were horrible and now they are much, much better.

_________________You are all a disgrace to vegans. Go f*ck yourselves, especially linanil.

If you really can't get in there and brush, I've seen food additives that are meant to prevent plaque in dogs... I can't vouch for their effectiveness, though. I brush Nola's teeth only occasionally, but they're in really good nick. She does eat Whimsees vegan dental chews and loves chomping on raw carrots, which are supposedly good for their teeth, but I'm not really sure other than anecdotal evidence.